The Year in Movies: Can Anyone Top Disney?

There have already been several huge hit movies in 2016, and they have several things in common. Three of the top five movies of the year so far have been superhero action blockbusters featuring comic-book characters, and the other two have been kid-friendly fantasies featuring animated talking animals. More significant, business-wise, is the fact that three of the top five movies are also also owned by a single studio.

The year has been a great one for Disney so far. The studio has released three of 2016's top four movies to date, including Captain America: Civil War at number one, The Jungle Book at number three, and Zootopia at number four. Only Fox's Deadpool has prevented Disney from taking sole possession of the top spots, and the studio's top three movies have so far earned  more than $1 billion in the United States alone.

The possibility of any other studio catching up with Disney before the end of the year looks highly unlikely. The studio has several potential blockbusters still on its release schedule for the year, including Pixar's Finding Dory, which will hit theaters in June, Steven Spielberg's The BFG, which follows in July, Pete's Dragon, which bows in August, and the Marvel/Benedict Cumberbatch superhero film Doctor Strange, which debuts in November. And, of course, there's the studio's next installment in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is scheduled for a December release - although recently announced reshoots might put that release date in jeopardy.